Not a huge James Blunt or Katy Perry fan (although I am guilty of playing Katy when I’m trying to get people to dance), but I am a sucker for pop songs being slowed down and reworked as acoustic folk ballads. Which is exactly what we find Blunt doing on his recent performance for Billboard.com’s horribly titled Mashup Mondays (they never play any mash-ups, only covers). The lyrics are bit ridiculous for the genre and just feel out of place at times as he so earnestly sings them, but it’s pretty enjoyable none the less. Fortunately he didn’t attempt the completely absurd Snoop Dogg rap. You’ll at least find it humorous.
Thanks to I Am Fuel, You Are Friends I just recently discovered a new indie pop band called Walk the Moon. She posted a video for the single “Anna Sun” from their debut album, I Want! I Want!, which came out in November of last year. By the end of the video I was in love. I restarted it as soon as it finished. And I still can’t get enough. The music is great. I really enjoy the lead singers voice. The band reminds of both the Killers and Local Native and “Anna Sun” is as catchy as a Katy Perry song. It’s been stuck in my head all day. And I enjoyed the video so much I am having a hard time separating the two. It is great single shot journey that leads you through this awesome maze of a building that gives you a sweet keytar solo and fantastic little spontaneous/choreographed dance (just watch the effeminate guy in the purple tank top, hilarious). The whole video just puts me in a great mood. This is probably one of the best new songs I have heard all year. I am really excited to hear the rest of their album.
Another year in music has come and gone. And once again DJ Earworm has given us a mash-up that says it all. He has taken the Top 25 hits of 2009, according to Billboard and arranged and mashed them all into one 4 and 1/2 minute song. And I have to say I am pretty impressed that this can be done and made into a reasonably enjoyable song. It even has a bit of a theme and a decent song structure.
But what does that say about the state of pop music, that all of these songs are similar enough to mashed up into one singular song? I don’t think this a completely untalented group of artists. I actually enjoyed a fair amount of these songs this year. But I think it goes to show how much the labels and producers are controlling the sound on these records. It’s no wonder we eat these songs up and then make ourselves so sick of them that we never want to hear them again. Because we’re essentially listening to the same song over and over again. What do you guys think?
Here’s a list of all of the songs included in this year’s mash-up.
The Black Eyed Peas – BOOM BOOM POW
Lady Gaga – POKER FACE
Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O’Donis – JUST DANCE
The Black Eyed Peas – I GOTTA FEELING
Taylor Swift – LOVE STORY
Flo Rida – RIGHT ROUND
Jason Mraz – I’M YOURS
Beyonce – SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
Kanye West – HEARTLESS
The All-American Rejects – GIVES YOU HELL
Taylor Swift – YOU BELONG WITH ME
T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake – DEAD AND GONE
The Fray – YOU FOUND ME
Kings Of Leon – USE SOMEBODY
Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo – KNOCK YOU DOWN
Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain – BLAME IT
Pitbull – I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)
T.I. Featuring Rihanna – LIVE YOUR LIFE
Soulja Boy Tell ‘em Featuring Sammie – KISS ME THRU THE PHONE
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, otherwise known as “Doctor Luke” has managed, yet again, to get indie hipsters and radio lovers all across the country to move their feet and swivel their hips with Miley Cyrus’ incredibly catchy and dance-able “Party in the USA.” But for whatever reason, the majority of the people who found themselves dancing to and loving this song last night, will inevitably deny doing so today. Because Miley Cyrus isn’t “cool” or “hip.” Nor is Katy Perry, Britney Spears, or Kelly Clarkson. Yet you know that each of them has released a song in the past year or two that you actually liked. I know this because of the insane amount of remixes from these artists that have been floating around the blogosphere and climbing to the top of the charts on Hype Machine. In fact, right now the #1 most loved track is a mash-up of “Party in the USA” with a Biggie song. Over 2,000 people “loved” this track. I don’t remember the last time I saw a track reach over 2,000. And believe it or not, the main reason you like those remixes, is because there was something great about the song in its original form.
Don’t get me wrong now, I’m not trying to compare any of these girls to the truly great female artists of our time, such as Neko Case, Feist, or Brandi Carlile. For the most part they are nothing more than a pretty face and great voice. But when you add that great voice with some of Gottwald’s hooks and melodies and you’ve got something worth listening to. I’m not saying that you should throw caution to the wind and go buy the new Miley Cyrus record at Wal-Mart (for that is the only place it can be found). That would be foolish. But when Dr. Luke has the chance to get his hands on a single, I am going to pay attention.
So why can’t we just unabashedly own our love for these songs. I’ll go first. I love the new Miley Cyrus single. I don’t care that the lyrics are a little elementary. It makes me dance and puts me in a swell mood. Here are a few other hits that Gottwald had his hands in that I’m not afraid to say that I enjoy, regardless of whether or not Diplo has remixed it yet.
